The US Department of Justice is to appeal a recent ruling that
dismissed a criminal obscenity indictment over the distribution of
obscene materials on-line and through the post by porn outfit
Extreme Associates.
The US Department of Justice is to appeal a recent ruling that
dismissed a criminal obscenity indictment over the distribution of
obscene materials on-line and through the post by porn outfit
Extreme Associates.
The indictment was dismissed in January by District Court Judge
Gary Lancaster, who said the government could not interfere in the
viewing of obscene materials by individuals in the privacy of their
own home. This right extended to the distribution of obscene
materials, said the Judge.
Judge Lancaster wrote: "the federal obscenity statutes violate
the constitutional guarantees of personal liberty and privacy of
consenting adults who wish to view the defendants' films in
private."
"Public morality is not a legitimate state interest sufficient
to justify infringing on adult, private, consensual, sexual conduct
even if that conduct is deemed offensive to the general public's
sense of morality," he added.
According to the indictment, Extreme Associates and its two
directors, husband and wife team Robert Zicari and Janet Romano,
offered obscene materials for sale over their web site. Customers
could purchase videos or pay to download video clips.
Extreme Associates bills itself as a hard core porn site,
featuring films containing simulated gang rapes, beatings and
violent attacks on women.
The company and its owners were indicted by a federal grand jury
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on 6th Aug 2003, on one count of
conspiracy to distribute obscene materials, three counts of mailing
obscene films, and six counts of transmitting obscene material over
the internet.
Last month, however, Judge Lancaster dismissed the indictment in
a ruling that the Department of Justice believes, if upheld, would
undermine not only the federal obscenity laws, but all laws based
on shared views of public morality, including laws against
prostitution, bestiality and bigamy.
"The Department of Justice places a premium on the First
Amendment right to free speech, but certain activities do not fall
within those protections, such as selling or distributing obscene
materials," said Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales. "The
Department of Justice remains strongly committed to the
investigation and prosecution of adult obscenity cases."
